Cosco Shipping Energy Transportation, the tanker unit of Cosco Group, has upgraded a VLCC newbuilding under construction at Dalian Shipbuilding Industry (DSIC) to LNG-powered.
The vessel, one of four VLCCs Cosco ordered at DSIC in 2017, will be equipped with dual fuel LNG propulsion system and it will also be the first LNG-powered VLCC that DSIC has ever built.
Cosco will spend around additional $6m on the ship engine upgrade.
Delivery of the vessel is expected before the end of 2021 while the other three sister ships will be delivered in 2020.
Earlier this year, Cosco and DSIC jointly started a project for the development of LNG dual-fuel VLCC, which is expected to reduce carbon emissions by 20% and sulphur emissions by 95% comparing to conventional fuel.
Last year, DSIC and China Merchants Energy Shipping also tested a landmark sail propulsion system on CMES’s newbuild VLCC New Vitality.
